All posts tagged Bronson Pinchot

Yesterday, we reported on actor Bronson Pinchot’s not-so-flattering comments to the A.V. Club about his “Risky Business” co-star Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington (an “unpleasant” human, in Pinchot’s eyes). We reached out to Pinchot’s rep for comment, and a few hours later we were surprised to see an e-mail from Pinchot himself, with the subject line “Bronson back at ya.” We wanted to know if the comments were made seriously or, considering the interview venue, in jest. “Probably the only way to determine the degree of jest-osity is for you to ask me whatever questions you may have and calibrate my tone for yourself,” Pinchot wrote us.

So we did.

Pinchot said he couldn’t get on the phone because he’s busy preparing a new show about his passion for purchasing and restoring historic houses, so we e-mailed him some questions. Here’s Pinchot’s response:

The Wall Street Journal: Were you serious or joking when you said Tom Cruise made “constant unrelated homophobic comments” while on the “Risky Business” set?

Pinchot: The context of the question was, “how did he strike me as a person” at a point in his career when he was a virtual unknown. And my answer was that, coming straight out of the world of theater, as essentially all the supporting male actors did, where homophobic language was not heard, I remember thinking his use of it was remarkable and excessive; however, it is also true to say, in hindsight, that for a 20 year-old with no background in theater, such language is actually unremarkable. Which I did not know at 23. Read More »

In an interview with the Onion’s A.V. Club, actor Bronson Pinchot, best known as Balki on the ’80s sitcom “Perfect Strangers,” randomly went on the warpath, saying that Tom Cruise made “constant unrelated homophobic comments” while the two were on the “Risky Business” set. Pinchot also called Denzel Washington “one of the most unpleasant human beings I’ve ever met.” Pinchot is promoting his role in “Mr. Art Critic,” out now on DVD. We don’t know if he’s joking or not, but he appears to be trying an edgy new strategy for Hollywood career revival: insult the town’s biggest players. Cruise responded today, through a rep, telling EW: “Obviously, this is so far removed from who Tom Cruise is as a person, this must have been said in jest.” Pinchot’s rep didn’t return a request for comment. Read More »

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.